


Promise Me No Promises

by hi_irashay



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Elf/Human Relationship(s), M/M, Magic and Science
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 09:24:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20580209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hi_irashay/pseuds/hi_irashay
Summary: “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”  A soft voice, touched by a hint of a smirk, from Jamie’s left.Jamie jumped up from his desk, the recorder clattering to the floor, and looked wildly around.  Slouching against the doorframe was... a man?  It must be a man, he looked human.  He had dark hair, a dark goatee, and eyes that seemed to sparkle in the firelight.(AKA the Icelandic Elf/Volcanic Researcher AU that NO ONE ASKED FOR)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [angelheadedhipster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelheadedhipster/gifts).

> For the Babe of Babes who got me into this trash hole in the first place <3.
> 
> Look, lads - I wrote this in 2017 when I was but a newborn babe in the Hockey RPF world. A lot of the decisions I made in re: characterizations are very funny to me now, haha, but I stand by them I suppose? Yeah!
> 
> T for now, will eventually become E. GET HYPE.

“Log for day 14 of 210, for associate Dr. Jamie Benn. Taking command of research at the Vik outpost of the University of British Columbia’s Geophysical Research Institute, having been cross trained by the previous command - Dr. Brendan Morrow - for the past two weeks. The date is Thursday, February 14, 2017. Time is 17:00 GMT/WET.”

Jamie paused, letting go of the “record” button on his handheld. This was his first daily report on his own, without Dr. Morrow glaring from across the table. It had felt both liberating and terrifying to set the agenda for the day this morning, just as now it felt both liberating and terrifying to be rehashing it on the recorder. He sat at his desk, surrounded by his notes and seismograph printouts. The fire he had been so proud of building on his own crackled merrily in the cabin’s fireplace. Jamie took a settling breath, letting the heat from the fire calm him, before clicking “record” again.

“Katla was quiet today. Relatively. Seismograph charts were within expected limits for an active site. Nothing out of the normal range with regards to tremors, no quakes of measurable magnitude. Due to nightfall...” Jamie sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. These Icelandic winters were nothing to scoff at, even for a fucking Canadian, and the lack of daylight was wearing on him.

He continued. “Due to nightfall, research activities on site ceased at 14:30 GMT/WET. The shortened daylight meant that the seismogram station on the Western caldera was not checked. Sunrise is slated for 09:30 tomorrow, I will make it my first priority to visit-”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A soft voice, touched by a hint of a smirk, from Jamie’s left.  _ What the fuck… _

Jamie jumped up from his desk, the recorder clattering to the floor, and looked wildly around. Was he really already hearing voices less than 24 hours after Dr. Morrow left? Had he cracked? The other researchers on the team had hinted at the possibility - everyone knew the Vik outpost was the loneliest and most isolated of them all, and that associates sometimes returned to UBC much different than they’d left. Their last research associate ( _ what was his name, Rich? _ ) could still be found muttering to himself in dark corners if he was left alone too long.

But no, he wasn’t hearing voices this time ( _ not yet, at least _ ). Slouching against the doorframe was... a man? It must be a man, he looked human. He had dark hair, a dark goatee, and eyes that seemed to sparkle in the firelight. Jamie couldn’t help but gape - if he were honest with himself, like he usually tried to be, the man was handsome.

“Who the fuck… I mean, how… what?”  _ Smooth. Real smooth. _

“Katla’s a fickle mistress,” the man continued in his silky voice. “Maybe there’s a reason she didn’t want you to get to that station today.” He stepped away from the doorframe, walking slowly closer. “Maybe you shouldn’t tempt her by trying to go tomorrow.” The man stopped in front of Jamie, much closer than expected. He was shorter than Jamie, but not by much. His presence seemed much larger than his actual size, though, and Jamie felt crowded in. He took an instinctive step back, then another, pushing his desk chair out from behind him as he went. Anything to get a little bit of breathing room.

The man remained where he was; his smirk seemed as if it were dancing in the firelight’s shadow cast. The sparkle in his eyes deepened, his eyes twinkling.  _ Really, Benn, twinkling? Eyes don’t fucking twinkle in the real world. _

Jamie tried again. “I’m sorry, but who are you? And what are you doing here?” The man raised an eyebrow as he regarded Jamie, but still did not speak. “I mean… are you alright, sir? It’s just, this is an official research base. I don’t know if you have the clearance to be here, Mr…” Jamie waited, expectantly, trying not to get distracted by the man’s physical appearance and proximity.

“I am called Þórður,” the man said, finally breaking the silence. His smirk turned knowing, as if he could read Jamie’s mind.

Jamie blinked, instinctively turning on the offensive. “Was that a sneeze, or a name?” He immediately regretted his crass words, a shamed blush creeping across his face.

The man tsked - actually tsked - and took a step towards Jamie. “A name.” Another step closer. “A common one, at that. Both I and my name are well-known in these parts.” Three more steps towards Jamie in the space of a breath.

“There is no way I can pronounce that,” Jamie replied, blundering forth again. Hot shame burned through his veins at his casual dismissal of the man’s name. To his surprise, the man didn’t seem to care about Jamie being rude anymore - he only seemed to care about getting closer. The other man was almost in front of him again, so Jamie took another step back and felt himself hit the cabin’s wall.  _ Shit. _

“Oh, but I’d love to hear you try.” The man’s smirk turned triumphant, recognizing that he had Jamie well and truly cornered. “You Americans have such clumsy mouths, it’s a wonder you are able to form sentences at all.”

A spark of defiance shot through Jamie, overtaking the apology he had at the ready. “I’m not American - I’m Canadian.”

The man - Thodar? Thorda?  _ Jesus _ \- laughed and waved his hand carelessly. “All the same to me. You’re not from here, not familiar with our customs.”

“It’s not at all the same,” Jamie replied indignantly. “Shows me how little you know of North America that you might even consider saying that.” He defiantly met the man’s eyes. “You’re not from there, you’re not familiar with our customs either.”

The man’s look turned calculating. “Fair point.”

Jamie continued to stare back, the man’s twinkling eyes turned considering as he let the silence deepen. Jamie felt the blush returning to his cheeks under the man’s stare. At the very least, this man did not seem to be any sort of threat and no alarm bells were sounding in Jamie’s head.  _ Though maybe, _ he thought wryly, _ they should be. _

“Well, if you insist on being here, I’m going to have to call you something.” Jamie thought about the sounds the man had said made up his name. “Say it one more time?”

The man’s eyes sparkled again. “Þórður.” His voice was pitched lower as he cocked his head to the side.

Jamie rolled the syllables over in his head, trying to come up with anything familiar. “I’m going to call you… Tyler. It’s probably the best I can do.” Jamie finally rejoined, apologetically. “For now, at least.”

“And what shall I call you, with your fiery temper and icy countenance, Dr. Canada?”

Jamie started - “Wait, how did… how did you know that I’m a doctor?”

The man - Tyler - scoffed. “You’re hardly the first I’ve encountered in this cabin; your type has been here since Katla went off in 2011. You  _ scientists, _ ” His voice held a slight note of derision. “Always poking and prodding, disturbing the land, only believing things if your machines tell you they exist.” He sniffed, making his disdain more clear.

“What are you doing here if you’re not also a scientist?” Jamie queried. “We’re far enough from Vik proper that you can’t just be a casual wanderer. And most casual wanderers aren’t bold enough to burst into the first cabin they see.”

“I am no scientist.” Tyler took a small step back from Jamie, suddenly less imposing. “This is my home, and your people disturbed it. I was here first, so here I will stay. Simple as that.”

He seemed nervous, almost. Nervous and uncertain, and - god help him - Jamie couldn’t help but feel concerned for him. Jamie stepped forward to meet Tyler in his retreat. “I don’t believe you, Tyler. But that’s OK.” Jamie tried to lower the timbre of his voice, to convey a calm assuredness. “You don’t have to tell me who you are if you don’t want to. I’m just curious.” He smiled ruefully. “I guess it’s the scientist in me.”

Tyler winced and dropped his gaze to the floor, but stood his ground. “The better question, Dr. Canada, is not ‘who,’ but ‘what’.”

A beat. “OK, then,  _ what _ are you?”

Tyler tensed, let out a huff of air, and raised his eyes back to Jamie’s. “First, your name.”

Jamie tried to soften his gaze as it met Tyler’s. He was not surprised to find that he didn’t like seeing Tyler in distress, no matter how minor. He never had liked seeing anyone in distress, really, no matter who - or what - they were. “Jamie. My name is Jamie.”

Tyler continued to stare at him. “Luckily for you, I have no trouble pronouncing that. Jamie.” Tyler startled Jamie by taking a final step closer so that there was barely a hair’s width between them. Jamie could feel Tyler’s breath on his own neck, his chin, his mouth. It was… very distracting.

Tyler looked up at Jamie through long lashes. “If you must know, Dr. Jamie, I am what your people might call an elf. I am what my people call  Huldufólk. ” He paused to take in Jamie’s reaction - Jamie made very sure not to have one. His instincts told him it was important to play this as coolly as possible, Tyler seemed to be searching for any sign of weakness or chink in Jamie’s armor. And so Jamie blinked, and he nodded, and he kept his eyes soft on Tyler’s.

“Huh,” Tyler continued, raising an eyebrow. “That’s it? I would have thought a man of science would have more of a reaction than that.”

Jamie snorted. “Maybe. I would pay good money to see how Dr. Morrow reacted to you. How did he react to you, by the way?”

“I didn’t present myself to your Dr. Morrow, as it were.” Tyler brought a hand up to stroke his goatee thoughtfully, still considering Jamie.

“Maybe us ‘men of science’ are different than you think. Dr. Morrow is approaching emeritus status, he can be a bit old fashioned in some ways. Old school, not as open to new things.” Jamie smiled softly - not at the thought of Dr. Morrow, but at the way Tyler seemed to be relaxing out of his previous tension.

“Indeed,” Tyler’s smirk was back. “But not you, Jamie.” On Tyler’s tongue, Jamie couldn’t help but think that his own name sounded like a term of endearment. “You are making that very clear.”

As they stood, Tyler reached out a hand and placed it against the side of Jamie’s face. Jamie leaned his face into Tyler’s palm without thinking, not breaking eye contact. Jamie felt pulled into Tyler’s eyes, deep pools of starlight and firelight swirling around each other into the abyss. Maybe Jamie was imagining things, maybe it was wishful thinking. But it couldn’t be denied that their breaths seemed to synchronize as they stood together, stock still.

“Not you,” Tyler whispered again. “Most curious.” He began sliding his thumb over the plane of Jamie’s cheek. “Most others would respond in disbelief, or confusion, or with a deluge of questions.” Jamie closed his eyes and let out an involuntary sigh as Tyler continued his gentle exploration. Tyler continued, his voice somehow quieter still. “The worst ones respond with fear.” Jamie felt rooted to the spot, though he couldn’t imagine wanting to move even if he could. His heart ached for the rejection he could hear in Tyler’s voice, so he pressed his cheek more insistently into Tyler’s palm.

Outside, a gust of wind set the anemometer on top of the cabin to spinning wildly. The resulting clatter startled Jamie, shattering the moment, and he jerked his head out of Tyler’s hand. In a split second he half mourned the loss of contact, half wondered at his own strange response to Tyler’s forward behavior. He had never been one to give in easily to anything before.  _ Is this some sort of elf magic? _ More importantly -  _ do I care? _

Tyler stepped back, breaking whatever remained of the spell between the two of them. “Oh, Jamie, you’re going to be very interesting.” The smirk returned to his face as he turned on his heel and walked to the cabin’s door. He paused once more, looking over his shoulder at Jamie. “Very interesting indeed.”

With that, he disappeared out the door and slammed it behind him. Jamie stood in the corner, one hand ghosting up to his cheek where Tyler’s hand had been. Even beyond the fact that Tyler apparently was a magical creature, Jamie was stunned at his own reactions. Did he really just have casual conversation with a random stranger, feel very comfortable about it, and allow that stranger to touch him in a relatively intimate way? Is this what one day spent alone had done to him?

Jamie shook his head, trying to forcibly shift his train of thought. He was focusing on all the wrong things, and more importantly had been distracted from finishing his report. He was here for the science, and the science should be all that mattered. And yet, the physical memory of Tyler’s hand on his cheek felt so  _ good _ , so familiar and right. Was it magic? Was it something else? Did he even care either way?

  
Jamie sighed and sat back down at his desk, retrieving the fallen recorder.  _ What the fuck is Iceland anyway? _


	2. Chapter 2

“Log for day 60 of 210. The date is Thursday, April 1, 2017. Time is 01:00 GMT/WET. There has continued to be minimal seismographic activity since the tremors in mid-March. Katla remains quiet for now.”

Jamie let go of the recorder button, hearing a soft chuckle behind him. He immediately turned to find Tyler leaning against the doorframe once again, the same smirk and eye twinkle in place.

“Katla is never quiet, Jamie.” Tyler’s voice was almost a purr - he seemed very pleased about something, and his pleasure was infectious.

“So you ARE real,” Jamie said, grinning. He had spent half of the time since their first meeting convincing himself he had hallucinated - a stress-induced fever dream of an evening, his way of coping with being alone in a remote research cabin for the very first time. He then spent the other half of his days alternately buried in his research and watching the door for any sign of Tyler’s return.

Jamie stood and stepped out from behind his desk. In his excitement to see Tyler again, he knocked a sheaf of printouts to the floor. Jamie ignored them as they scattered, hurrying towards Tyler.

“My, my,” Tyler drawled. “So excited at so obvious a fact.” He cocked his head to the side as he watched Jamie advance. “Of course I’m real, just as you are.”

“Sorry,” Jamie replied, wondering at his own reactions. He stopped moving towards Tyler and kept a respectable distance between them. “Never met an elf before, I don’t think.”

Tyler chuckled again. “No, I don’t imagine you have.”

Jamie grinned. “Anyway, wasn’t sure you’d come back.” He paused, then continued - “Glad you did.”

They stared at each other for a few beats, before Jamie coughed awkwardly and looked away. “So, uh, how have you been?”

This seemed to give Tyler pause and his expression faltered. “After 40 days, that’s what you want to know?”

“46 days, actually,” Jamie smiled wryly. “And yes.”

Tyler let out a derisive laugh. “Ever the precise scientist.” He took a step closer to Jamie and regarded him openly. “You have missed me.” A proclamation. There was no doubt in either of their minds that what he said was the truth.

Jamie coughed awkwardly again, looking anywhere but at Tyler’s eyes. “So what if I did?” he muttered.

Tyler didn’t respond, instead walking past Jamie and bending to retrieve some of the fallen papers.

“What are these, Dr. Jamie?” Tyler queried as he straightened up. He scrutinized the reports. “What magic do your machines tell you about tonight?”

Jamie’s grin returned as he extended his hand to take them back. “Not magic - science! Those are readouts from seismographs, which tell us some of what is happening underneath Katla’s surface.”

Tyler stared hard at the papers, then at Jamie. “I can tell you what is happening underneath Katla’s surface.”

Jamie’s grin widened as he made to swipe at the reports. “I’m sure you could!”

To Jamie’s consternation, Tyler danced out of his reach, holding the papers over his head. “Yes, I could. It was - is - my home, you know. And I don’t appreciate your tone.”

Jamie’s grin faded as he dropped his hand with a sigh. “Come on, Tyler, I didn’t mean whatever you’re thinking. Let me quickly finish this report and then we can…”

Tyler paused in his evasion. “Then we can what, Dr. Jamie?” Jamie fell silent. He wasn’t sure, if he were being honest with himself. He only knew that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Tyler even when he had half-convinced himself that the man wasn’t real.

“I don’t know, it’s just… please.” Jamie looked at his toes, feeling the color rise in his cheeks. Tyler always seemed to elicit this response in him, based on the small sample size of their 2 meetings.

“Please, what?” Tyler stepped closer, the pitch of his voice dropping dangerously low as he stepped closer to the fireplace. He held the reports close to the flame - too uncomfortably close for Jamie’s liking - and arched an eyebrow back at Jamie in a challenge. “I said - please, what?”

Jamie held his hands out in front of himself, as placatingly as possible. “Please, Tyler. I need those printouts to make my report tonight. I know you think this is all bullshit or whatever, but...” Jamie took a steadying breath, running his hands through his hair. “You can mess with me all you want, just please don’t mess with the data.”

Tyler stilled. A slow smirk spread across his face, his eyes glinting with a strange intensity. “Oh, I intend to.”

Jamie shifted nervously, thrown. “Intend to what?” Tyler was getting closer, his steps slow and deliberate as he dropped the papers back on the desk and crowded Jamie’s space again.

“Mess with you,” Tyler whispered, before taking Jamie’s face in both his hands and pressing their lips together. Jamie gasped at the contact - this was not at all what he had been expecting - and Tyler took advantage of his open mouth to trace Jamie’s lips with his tongue. Jamie groaned at that, closing his eyes and bringing his own hands up to tangle in Tyler’s hair. He wanted to pull Tyler closer, tighter, _ yes, forever. _

Tyler pulled back and chuckled at Jamie’s expression. “I thought you might like that.” Jamie’s hands had fallen to Tyler’s shoulders, and Jamie couldn’t think of anything to say besides the truth - “Yes, I… yes.” 

Jamie dipped his thumbs down to trace across Tyler’s collarbone as he tried to catch his breath and his thoughts, gliding his thumbs back and forth across defined edges. Tyler brought his face closer to Jamie’s and slid his hands down Jamie’s chest, stopping briefly at his hips. Tyler ran the ridge of his nose along the plane of Jamie’s cheek as his hands continued their journey south, bringing them around to cup Jamie’s ass. Jamie groaned again and tried to pull Tyler closer. 

This was strange, this had to be wrong, it was too sudden and too quick and too random. Too out of character - THIS ISN’T YOU, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, the warning bells tried to scream at him. But as Tyler pulled back once more and looked up at Jamie through those long lashes, all Jamie could think of was never stopping. He imagined smashing the warning bells for good as he bent down for another kiss.

Tyler met him halfway, and as their lips touched Tyler squeezed Jamie’s ass again. There was nothing sweet or tentative about this now, and it felt incredible. Tyler was everywhere at once, enveloping Jamie with a ferocity and heat that left him feeling alternately boneless and rock solid. The kiss deepened, and Jamie brought one hand back up to Tyler’s hair. He hesitated briefly, darting his tongue out to meet Tyler’s before bringing his other hand down to his ass.

Tyler pulled away abruptly, taking several steps back to create what felt like an entire canyon between them. They both were breathing heavily, the soft buzz of arousal palpable between them.

“Is this…” Jamie started, suddenly unsure after Tyler’s rapid shift. “Is this not what you want, Tyler?” His concern grew. “I didn’t, I never meant to-”

“No,” Tyler’s voice was firm, his breath somehow already reregulated. “I just need to leave before sunrise, is all.” He gestured towards the window where, sure enough, light was already beginning to appear on the horizon. 

“It was full-on dark when you arrived,” Jamie said thoughtfully, between heavy breaths. He didn’t think he would ever get used to the way the days and nights passed in Iceland. “You must have lost track of time somehow.”

Tyler’s eyes sparkled and he smiled a small, contrite smile. “I must have.” As before, he turned and walked out of the cabin. This time he didn’t look back, but he also didn’t slam the door.

Jamie was again left shaken in the wake of all that is Tyler. One finger traced his lips as he stared dumbly out the open door into the approaching dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUCK I gotta work on the rest of this. New year's resolution? Pray for me ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**Author's Note:**

> I have one more written chapter, and then 3 I have yet to write lol whoops (including the Porn I Know You're Probably Here For). WILL I EVER GET TO THEM???? Hopefully!
> 
> Title from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn40gqhxoSY


End file.
